Clinical-Community Linkages

Clinical-community linkages help to connect health care providers, community organizations, and public health agencies so they can improve patients' access to preventive and chronic care services.

Creating sustainable, effective linkages between the clinical and community settings can improve patients' access to preventive and chronic care services by developing partnerships between organizations that share a common goal of improving the health of people and the communities in which they live. These linkages connect clinical providers, community organizations, and public health agencies.

Forming partnerships and relationships among clinical, community, and public health organizations to fill gaps in needed services.

Promoting patient, family, and community involvement in strategic planning and improvement activities.

Types of clinical-community linkages include coordinating services at one location, coordinating services between different locations, and developing ways to refer patients to resources.

Why Are Clinical-Community Linkages Important?

Strategies that improve access to clinical preventive services (such as screening and counseling), community-level activities, and appropriate medical treatment have been shown to reduce and prevent disease in communities. Collaborations between clinical, community, and public health organizations offer a win-win scenario for participating organizations, clinical teams, and patients.

What do effective clinical-community linkages offer?

Patients get more help in changing unhealthy behaviors.

Clinicians get help in offering services to patients that they cannot provide themselves.

Community programs get help in connecting with clients for whom their services were designed.

How Can Clinical-Community Linkages Be Put Into Action?

It may seem obvious to link organizations that share similar goals for groups of patients. However, primary care clinicians, public health agencies, and community groups often provide services with little interaction with each other. To build and improve linkages across private and public health organizations within communities, it is important to identify gaps in needed health services and to fill those gaps by using the strengths and abilities of the participating organizations.

AHRQ's Innovations Exchange features examples of successful clinical-community collaborations and more resources for linking clinical practices and community organizations. These resources include: